To Be Living: A FNAF Short
by Drakomis
Summary: In an alternate reality, Action World Pizza, co-founded and owned by Shane Watson, is one of the most successful childrens restraunts and attractions in the country. Now, however, Shane grows old and tired, and in need of a replacement. The best way to find one? See if they survive the night shift, of course!
1. Prologue

There was something to be said about making your way in life. A couple years ago, I had a real good job at the local hobby store in town, the Fix-It-All. I had made it all the way to service manager during my employment there, and my daily job lists included fixing customer products ranging from computers to hobby items such as RCs and models. It was a fun job, one I had deeply enjoyed.

Unfortunately that had all changed when the economy began to drop. The stores owner was already having issues maintaining bills, so when prices skyrocketed that was all she wrote. Not even a free loan from Shane Watson, owner of the local Action World Pizza and one of our best customers, couldn't convince my boss to keep the doors open.

A few weeks later, I had a meager severance check in hand and no job. The town I live in is small, so there wasn't much I could do in the area of job hunting. I eventually lost my apartment and eventually found myself on the streets a few times despite taking on a few odd jobs.

At one point I had almost gained a job at Action World Pizza as a technician, but after an interview with Shane Watson I knew I wouldn't get it. He was too stoic and unimpressed, and I already saw the next persons application on the desk. Just a glance. College degrees beat me any day. I never checked back, and I didn't have a phone at the time to get reached at, so I considered it a loss. Eventually I found a steady beat at the local grocery store.

I remember seeing Mr. Watson a few times, I also remember him looking at me as if I had forgotten something. I simply tried to avoid him, and for two years I did. I saved my money, rented a room offered by my supervisor at her place, and eventually moved into my own single-room apartment. It was less than what I had before, but I didn't complain. My supervisor at the grocery was kind enough to help me find it.

A year past. I got a promotion to security and a meager raise (no complaints from me!). I got a used car (with the help of some friends pitching in), a cell phone, and I made a life for myself. I was poor, but happily poor, and while there was little to do in my new position, I enjoyed the freedom it allowed. I made friends, and soon I would find myself hanging out with most of the town.

At the end of my second year at the local grocery store, I confronted by Shane Watson out in the parking lot. He seemed intent on talking to me, but I still felt a tinge of anger at being overlooked two years prior, so I did what I always do in socially awkward situations. I ran for an escape, specifically my car. Mr. Watson must of read my mind, because made it there before I did.

"Why are you avoiding me?" Mr. Watson asked.

Now, to be clear, Mr. Watson was an intimidating person. Sure, he was old, probably in his eighties, but he kept himself so well maintained that you wouldn't know that. The only dead giveaway to his age was his gray hair and mustache, which both was always neatly kept and presentable. He really didn't smile a lot either, and right now the only thing I saw on his face was a frown.

"I um..." I couldn't find the words at first. "I don't know what you're talking about, Mr. Watson. But I really need to go."

"Bullshit," Shane Watson replied flatly. It was the first time I had ever heard this man curse. He took a step toward me, forcing me to step back.

To be fair, I was a pretty intimidating person myself. I stood at five-feet and eleven inches, and I regularly worked out since I couldn't afford cable or any other distraction. There wasn't much that scared me. Mr. Watson on the other hand? Six-foot, four inches, and he appeared to work out as well. As a matter of fact, I knew he did, because I saw him at the community gym a time or two. What really put the nail in the coffin for this situation was his fatherly demeanor, and how horrible and guilty I felt with his stare.

"Edward Reign, right?"

"Yes sir," I replied.

"You know," Shane began, "for two years I've been trying to talk to you. You applied as my technician, and you never left a way to contact you. Why didn't you ever come back? Why are you avoiding me?"

At this, he crossed his arms, staring intently at me, almost as if I had done something wrong. What did he mean "come back"? Hadn't he already lined up someone else?

"I-I saw the application," I muttered.

"Pardon?"

"The application? The guy with a college degree in electronics and engineering?"

I watched as his face scrunched in thought. He looked away for a moment, only to look back with a confused expression, eyebrow raised. "What did that have to do with anything? He didn't apply for the technician position."

It was then I felt my heart fall into my stomach. What? The guy didn't even apply for technician?! I had-

By this point Shane had taken note of my bewildered state, and it appeared he put two-and-two together as his eyes widened. He let out a long, "Oh!", and lowered his arms, one of which patted my shoulder and shook me from my broken state of mind.

"Son, are you telling me that all this time, you thought some college educated kid had already taken the position?"

There wasn't much I could say at this point. I simply nodded. Mr. Watson proceeded to burst into laughter, much to my dismay. But it didn't die down. He continued to laugh. Eventually all the regret and anger rose the surface, and I burst into laughter too. It had all been done silly misunderstanding, and the stress if it all finally found a release.

After a few moments of both of us laughing, Mr. Watson patted me on the shoulder, looking at me with a smile. "You mind if we get around to talking now?" He asked me.

"Not at all," I replied with an equal smile. "If you want, I can drive us to the coffee shop. We can talk there."

"Sounds good," Mr. Watson replied. "I think we have much to discuss."

With a turn if a key, and a shift of a gear, My destiny began to unfold that day. Little did I anticipate what Shane Watson was to talk with me about. Needless to say, it would change my life forever. But I'm getting ahead of myself. Right now, at that point, I'm just happy to have a second chance.


	2. Chapter One: The Coffee House

It was a lively Wednesday evening at the coffee house, as I recall. Shane Watson and I had spent the better part of two hours catching up on events. I remember carefully examining my phone, an android device, and realizing the passage of time.

Mr. Watson took note of it too, he checking his watch. He smiled as he looked back at me. "So what do you say?"

It took me a moment to realize what he had meant. I was in process of sipping my hot chocolate cappuccino, not really thinking on the job offer Mr. Watson had proposed.

"Why not just technician?" I asked as us set my cup down. I saw Shane shrug sympathetically.

"I would, Edward, but that position doesn't exist anymore."

"Since when?" I asked. We had just talked about it.

"Since now," Shane replied. "Listen, Edward, I really would let you in as technician, but I think you'd do so much more good as Night Guard."

I thought about it for a moment. I watched Shane take a drink of his iced coffee (he seemed to gulp that stuff down) as I thought about my options. "Pay?" I asked.

Shane had enough time to swallow before replying. "Twenty dollars an hour, with company benefits and retirement options."

Holy shit!

"What's the catch?" I asked, looking at him dubiously

At this, Mr. Watson smiled. It was an odd smile, one signifying something left unsaid, or not mentioned previously. "No catch," he replied. "You can start tomorrow night if you want."

I watched him in silence. That odd smirking smile not going away. Still, twenty an hour with benefits beat my nine an hour. I nodded.

"Alright, I'm interested. But I won't start for two weeks. The grocery store deserves that much from me."

Shane extended his hand, which I took. "Fair enough," he said shaking hands. "Welcome to the team."

I remember how happy I felt back then, accepting Mr. Watson's offer. I just wish that Shane had told me everything back then. Then again, if he had, I probably wouldn't have accepted his offer. Smart man he was.

Two weeks seemed to fly by for me. My supervisor at the grocery was none too happy with me leaving and my friends were upset but eventually they seemed to come to terms with it. I realized this on my last day. A party was thrown in my honor, and the cake was really delicious. I mingled for a while, and eventually left after being told I always had a place there.

It was one of the more memorable times in my working career, and one of the most secure. I was sure if everything didn't work out at Action World Pizza I'd have something to fall back on.

The following evening I showed up for my first shift two hours early, just in case. It was a good thing too. I met with one of the managers and they had me fill out a plethora of forms. I swore it almost felt like I was joining the army.

Page after page went by, and I read, signed, and dated each one. I eventually got to a page that was a waiver on behalf of Action World Pizza. I read through it, and it made sense. Since they used animatronics, if one malfunctioned, they didn't want to have to bare the ungodly cost.

I signed the waiver and finished up, then was sent to watch a video for my remaining hour. It went over subjects I was familiar with due to my job history, all but one. There was a long section in the video about procedures to follow in case of emergency. One of those procedures dealt with an animatronic malfunction.

I was a little unsettled by the graphic description of possible worst-case scenarios, but the video and the managers did state that none of these events had actually happened. It was simply precaution, necessary. I remember still feeling uneasy about it.

At the end of it all, I was given time to address any concerns I had. I stated I had none, and afterward I was sent home. The retiring Night Guard wasn't ready yet for me to start, so my training would begin the following night. It seemed formal introductions would have to wait.

I was fine with it though. I needed some time to assimilate what I had learned. Before I left, I was handed my outfit and badge (conviently with the words "Trainee Guard" on it), and handed a job description booklet for me to look over. I was even assured that the time spent today would be paid.

I left very happy with my new job. In my stupor, I pushed the warnings about the animatronics to the back of my mind, focusing only on what I perceived to be a bright future at Action World Pizza.

During the night, I remember having a dream. It was quite a scary dream. I don't remember much about it, not even now, but I do remember waking up in a cold sweat. It felt like somebody - or something - had stalked me for six hours.

And their faces...

_**AUTHORS NOTE:**_

_Apologies for this chapters previous horrid incarnation. It appears there was some sort of issue when I downloaded the file to FanFiction and it just went all haywire. Hopefully it is fixed now._


	3. Chapter Two: First Night - Part One

The dream from the previous night seemed to nip at my mind for the rest of the day. Bits and pieces resurfaced, and from what I had gathered I was a clerk or janitor for some run down establishment. I remembered i walked the halls of the building in my dream, thinking how disgusting everything was, but having a sense that I needed to be here. A strong sense, a strong feeling, that it was my purpose.

There were a few more things I would eventually remember about the dream; frantically watching the doors to my office, keeping an eye on the employees, feeling anger towards my boss just to name a few. Everything else just seemed to slip away. Eventually the memories from the dream were to slip to the back of my mind, never to bother me again, or so I was to believe.

My day would pass uneventfully. I made a few calls to Action World Pizza to clarify everything I would be needing for the night ahead, who I was to be meeting, and if I would need to pack a lunch. I would need my provided security outfit and twenty dollars for the walkie-talkie and flashlight deposit; unusual, but I would comply. I would be meeting Timothy Johnson, a night guard of ten years for the company. It was recommended I bring my lunch, but since they had an employee lounge with vending machines, I could just bring money instead.

Before the woman on the other end hung up, she would tell me I would apparently need to be one hour early to have a talk with my trainer. Something about the unique job requirements necessary for the position. I didn't think too much about it, giving my compliance before hanging up my cell.

The hours would wane, and I would eventually realize I needed to head out. I chose money for lunch that night. Probably the better option considering I had forgotten to go grocery shopping again. Ramen noodles just wouldn't cut it this time.

I pulled up into the parking lot of Action World Pizza. Getting out, I got a good chance to look at my surroundings. The pizza establishment took up a couple hundred square feet and was made up of three buildings. In the front was the original restaurant area. Just by looking I could tell where exterior renovations had been made over the years, but overall it appeared to be in nice shape. The front of the building, facing me, had an entrance with a lit sign above it with the words, "Action World Pizza!", and below in smaller format, "Thanks Leston for Thirty Years!".

To the left of the property, just beside the original building, was the Action World Pizza "Fun Zone". It took up about the same space as a high school gymnasium and had within it several play areas for children; bounce houses, mazes, trampolines, ect. It was connected to the main building by a on-ground, covered walkway some ten or fifteen feet long. Presently the lights were off, signifying it being closed, and could barely make out its sign, "Kids Fun Zone!".

To the right of the property was a relatively new addition, constructed only about one year prior. I remember reading about it in the newspaper back then, something about the need for a "young adult" playground. Within it was planned a laser tag arena, skating ring, and several other attractions I never got around to reading. The buildings lights were off, but I could make out the sign words on the building thanks to a parking lot light. It read, "Awesome Arena!". I noticed that this building was also connected to the main building by a similar walkway.

All three buildings had the same color pattern of gray and white, with the exception of the sign letters on each front face; red with white outlining. Each one had a similar entrance to the other; sliding doors into a walk-in area, then another set of sliding doors leading to the building area. The parking lot connected to all three, and around the property was carefully planted trees, bushes, flower beds, and even picnic and eating areas. Thirty years gave a business a long time to improve on itself, it appeared.

I was impressed with the sight of it. Despite it being at the dark hour, the street and lot lights revealed enough for me to get a good idea. I had no idea why I had missed this visual of the property before, concluding thereafter that it probably wasn't important at the time.

Looking down at my phone for the time, I realized I had but a few minutes before my shift was to start. I checked my Night Guard outfit; standard white buttoned shirt with black pants and a pair of nice, clean black dress shoes. There was a patch on right chest area with the words "Awesome World" at the top and "Night Security" at the bottom. A similar patch was on both upper sleeves, and to the left chest area was a spot for a name tag, now only having "Night Trainee" on it. Satisfied I looked proper, I adjusted my security hat, going inside.

The main building appeared to still be open, and I took note of a few couples still in the restaurant area eating either pizza or other assorted foods. They were being watched by a few servers near the front desk, and they all appeared to be teenagers. I continued my observations, noticing that the party area was closed down and curtains closed. I remember as a kid that this area harbored the famous animatronics, but for the life of me I had forgotten what they were. I made a mental note to find out, looking elsewhere.

I took note of several other areas of the main building, all identified or marked with signs. The kitchen was behind the restaurant area four bathroom areas were located around the premises. Just beside the party area was a door leading to an "Technician Only" area; probably where the animatronics were repaired. There was a small play area for kids to my left, undoubtably the original play area. It appeared fully restored, with ball play area, slides, and playground. It was quarantined off from the rest of the building by a rubber fence, undoubtably for the parents benefit. Warning signs and what appeared to be an employee area was at its entrance.

I proceeded towards the area marked "Employees Only", getting a few looks from the servers and staff before they turned to indifference as I walked down a hallway. Everything back here was marked as well; employee lounge, offices, manager office, staff room, meeting room, sales/delivery, and Security. Remembering my instructions from earlier, I followed the signs for Security. It felt like a long walk, and I eventually ended up at what felt like the back of the building.

The door to the Security Office was opened and I knocked on the wooden door frame. The person at the desk looked up to me; late forties, early fifties by the look on his face with a chubby appeal. I noticed him look toward my badge, and in an instant he smiled, closed the gap between us, and shook my hand in his.

"You must be Edward Reign! Welcome! Come in!"

I started in after he released my hand, smiling myself, but as I touched the door to close it he added, "Leave it open please." I complied, following where he motioned for me to sit. The seat was comfortable, having a swivel base and positioned in front of a monitor area. I quickly gazed over, realizing the four or five flat screens were divided among views to ALL three buildings; the two adjacent building cameras dark due to after hours save for a few dimly lit rooms.

The rest of the Security Office didn't have any further electronics, save for a camera in both corners which I found odd; someone needs to watch the watcher? There was two other doors besides the one I came in at. One lead to a private bathroom (I liked that) and the other had no label on it. I was sure I would find out its purpose eventually. My attention returned to the one who had so boisterously welcomed me. I caught a glimpse of his name patch (T. Johnson). i logically concluded this was indeed Timothy, my trainer.

When he had settled back down on the other side of his metal desk in his chair, Timothy looked up to me. "I'm sorry about last night Ed - can I call you Ed? - I was just not feeling too well. But we're here tonight, so, are you ready to get down to business?"

I maintained my smiled. "Absolutely understandable Tim - can I call you Tim? - and Ed is fine. I'm pretty excited personally, so, sure."

Timothy laughed, "Yeah sure, why not? Anyway, I saw you looking around as you came in, so I'm sure you know where everything is. What you saw is basically what you get. Any questions about that?"

"Not really," I replied. He nodded. "Good, smart kid. Shane said you would make a fine employee, and I'm already starting to see it. Alright, so well go over some rules that weren't covered in your orientation. What you went through was basic company stuff, what I need to go over is the important stuff. You might want to take notes so here-" he procured a pad and pen from a desk drawer, handing it to me as I took it "-take that. Alrighty, ready?"

I nodded, pen at the ready. Boy this was going faster than I anticipated!

"Good," Timothy continued. "First rule of Action World Pizza is to never, ever go into the party area after hours. I don't care if you hear something funny or out of place during your rounds. If you feel it needs it attention, log it down on the pad I just handed you, and I'll look it over in the morning. And if you hear anything that you might think needs investigation - say a scream or something - you call me first, got it?"

I put two and two together. Animatronics, company waiver. Made sense. The scream part kind unnerved me, though. "Got it," I replied, taking down the appropriate notes.

"Alright, second rule is while you're in training, you are not to leave this building. Eventually you'll get the freedom to wander between all three buildings, but until I feel your up to the job, we're gonna restrict you to here. Got it?"

That made sense too. "Got it," I replied, again taking down a note. Timothy continued.

"Finally, the last rule is that you stick to your shift. You'll be here from twelve o'clock at night to eight in the morning. From six o'clock to eight employees will be coming in for work, so it'll be your job to verify ID tags and let them be on their way. Not hard at all, just ask for their company ID, verify their picture and name, blamo you're done. Got it?"

I nodded, making definitely sure to take this part down. "Got it down," I replied.

"Good man!" Timothy said, standing. "Why don't you come with me so we can get you set up and I'll let you start your first night, sound good?"

I blinked, standing. "Wait, you're allowing me to stay here - by myself - on my first night?"

Timothy looked at me, confused for a moment, then laughed. "Oh come on man, you're not a kid or anything! Cameras watch us, and we watch cameras, so there's really no use for me to stay. I've told you everything you needed to know and, provided you do it, you'll be fine! Now, come on, let's get your stuff."

It still didn't make sense to me, but for some reason I believed they were putting a whole lot of trust in me - or maybe Mr. Watson had. Regardless, with cameras watching my every move, I suppose it made some kind of sense. I followed Timothy to the unmarked door I was curious about earlier. He procured his set of keys, unlocking it. I peeked in, noticing it was a storage closet for security supplies, then watched as Timothy turned around with a walkie-talkie and flashlight in one hand, along with holders to go on my belt. He extended his other hand, asking, "You got your twenty right?"

I nodded, providing it from my wallet. He took it, I hearing him unlock some type of box - probably a lock box - then turning around again. I held out my hands taking the supplies as he handed to me, putting them appropriately on my belt, and further taking a set of keys as he grabbed it from the closet. He looked at me for a moment, then grabbed something else, providing a telescopic steel baton to me, with holder. I looked at him questioningly as I took it.

"Don't worry," he said with a reassuring smile, "I usually hand these out after a week of training, but you look like you know what you're doing. Besides, never know these days, you know? Don't want to see my potential replacement without a way to defend himself while I'm gone."

I put the telescopic baton in its holder, then onto my belt. I maintained my questioning gaze. "From what, exactly? People trying to steal the animatronics or something?"

I noticed how the word "animatronics" caused a twitch to his eye, but other than that he kept his smile. "Something like that," Timothy replied, "they are high end, advanced pieces of machinery. Never know what'll happen."

I noticed how when he stated that Timothy appeared to be alluding to something. His expression remained the same as we stood in silence, me being unable to decipher what he meant. I eventually resorted to just nodding, not really knowing what to say besides, "Thanks, I guess?"

"You'll do fine," he reassured me, closing the closet and locking it before heading toward the exit to the office. "Drinks and food in the employee lounge, and you're pretty much set for a safe first night. I locked all the doors - except the entrance, of course. Whenever the last love-struck couple leaves, lock it down will ya?"

With that, and a nod, he was gone. I was left alone. I sighed, gazing down at my new baton, then shaking my head. After a moment of contiplation, I sat in front of the flat screens, watching the camera feeds as I formally began my shift.

By twelve o'clock I had escorted the last of the "overnighters" out. They had been chatting non-stop and I decided that since it was kinda, well, twelve in the fucking morning and the other employees had already left the building, that they should probably go. Turns out I was really good at convincing people to leave, they complying with a few friendly waves and out they went. I locked the doors, then sighed in relief as I took in the scene.

The lighting in the building changed almost as soon as I had locked the doors and turned around. The majority of the ceiling lights that had been on turned off, but the remainder was more than adequate for me to see. I figured it was an automatic function set when the night guard would lock the door. Still, it had almost spooked me.

Recovering from whatever side-effects the lights had caused rather quickly, I proceeded to walk to make sure there was no additional messes in the restaurant area. Confirming its cleanliness (if only for my own sake!) I continued to the play area, figuring a check to make sure no one had hidden out was in order. I had just finished checking the ball pit when I heard a noise coming from the party area; clanking of metal, from the sound of it. I turned my attention towards the closed curtain and, for a brief moment, I swore it moved like something behind it had disturbed the curtain.

Had to be the air conditioning, I figured. I did hear the silent hum of the overhead unit above. It was probably a temperature difference between the rooms that caused it. I exited the ball pit - and playground area - to return to my rounds. I looked at my phone, seeing that a good forty-five minutes had passed. I had been on the premises since eleven o'clock, by my figuring, so maybe a brief respite in the lounge was in order. Just as I was to make way, however, the power went out.

Everything went dark.

From behind me I heard something, mechanical almost. I began to reach for my flashlight.


	4. Chapter Three: First Night - Part Two

I was afraid. I felt my hand shaking as I gripped the flashlight handle, retrieving it from its holster on my belt; audible click signifying its release. With a slow, steady intake of breath, I exhaled as I turned on the flashlight. The beam of light pierced the darkness, revealing the truth behind me. I breathed in sharply, surprised and confused by what I saw.

Nothing.

The sound I heard must have been something else entirely. Strange, very strange. The mechanical whirring of servos really indicated one thing, and at present my flashlight revealed nothing of the sort. No loose animatronics, no parted curtain in the entrance of the Party Area, and most importantly no further sounds of mechanical trickery. I let out a sigh of relief, mind concentrating on the next important matter at hand; lights.

I scanned the ceiling, seeing no foul play or shorts in any of the lights; as far as my knowledge could tell, I was not an experienced electrician. I wondered briefly where someone might put the breaker box, mind interrupted as the red emergency lights came on from the exit signs. I kept on my flashlight, it providing a superior range of view in the darkness as I quickly scanned around me. My light stopped just near a figure in the corner, near the play area.

The red lighting played tricks off the figures form. It stood, unmoving, but its body was quite reflective and I couldn't make out what, or who, it was. I slowly began to train my light on it and, just before the outer edge of the cone of view hit it, the figured move; fast, to the right. This startled me as I heard the same mechanical noise as before, but this time it was heavier, as if more power was being put into the effort to move. I tried to follow it withy my light, but the figure was too quick, hiding behind the playground in an instant.

I had two options. The first, and probably the most logical, was to investigate. It was my job as the night guard to ensure the safety of my place of work! Then again, what if this figure was one of the animatronics, as the mechanical sounds suggested? Then came my second option. I could ignore this obvious breach of night shift protocol and try my best to find a solution to the lighting problem. Both seemed appealing.

I made my choice after a few moments of thought. "Hello?" I called out, "Whose there?"

I crept forward a few feet, now just inches from the play area fencing. I swiveled my flashlight around the playground area, trying to see if I saw anything out of the ordinary. Whatever it was, it was good at hiding.

"I won't hurt you, I prom- Ow!"

Before I could react one of the plastic balls from the ball pit was thrown at me, hitting me on the side of the head. It didn't hurt, much, but these plastic balls were nothing like when I was a kid. I rubbed the side of my cheek, training my light to the sound of where the ball fell, watching as it rolled to a stop a few feet away.

At this point, I became less afraid, and more irritated. "That wasn't very nice!" I said loudly, rubbing my cheek. I trained my light toward the ball bit just in time to see another plastic ball in mid flight. I avoided it, but during those moments as the flashlight jerked, my eyes trained on something for a split second.

I felt a shiver down my spine, the cone of light just below the ball pit, a few feet short from where I saw what startled me. It was a pair of eyes, magenta in color, staring at me. I didn't make out anything else, almost like that was it. I gathered my wits, raising my flashlight to the area in question. The eyes were gone.

I was pretty shaken up by this point. Not only did the lights mysteriously go out, but I also had what was probably one of the animatronics toying with me. It didn't help that the damn thing kept hiding.

"Okay now," I said, slowly gazing around, almost afraid I might see those lone eyes again. "You're kinda scaring me here. I really don't want any trouble, okay? Why don't you show yourself?"

I took the direct approach. Might as well appeal to its programming, if it had any. Otherwise it was doing these actions by design, or, even worse, it was something entirely different. I didn't want to think along the second line of thought, and considering what this company was built around, I was probably making the logical conclusion.

Some whirring of servos caught my attention. Footfalls, definitely mechanical, coming from just to the end of the ball pit. I took in a breath, training my light there, eyes widening at what I saw.

It was like something out of the Terminator. A steel exoskeleton, first the feet, then the body appeared from behind the ball pit. I quickly exhaled, breathing a bit quicker. I wasn't sure whether I should be afraid or run for my life, so I stood there, watching as the exoskeleton turned to face me. It was fully within the cone of light cast by my flashlight, the cone slightly shaking due to the increased adrenaline I was experiencing.

Its eyes were indeed magenta, but that was it. The eyes appeared to connect to some sort of steel cranium in the rear, and below it a set of steel jaws that were slightly ajar. The teeth seemed a bit sharper than necessary, and as I examined the exoskeleton further, I noted how the fingers and toes were about the same way. It had a rib cage, of sorts, but it didn't seem to server any other function than to hold the wires and hoses going from the head to the rest of the body. It was, quite frankly, a menacing sight.

I had no doubt in my mind this thing could kill me if it wanted to by this point. I gulped. Still, it did come out after I said I was scared. Maybe it understood me. Maybe, just maybe, the ball throwing was an attempt by it to play? I didn't know, my thoughts were racing on how to continue this odd introduction.

"I uh-" I gulped again, breathing a bit heavier "-My names, uh, Edward. Edward Reign. What, uh, what is yours?"

I saw the jaws start to move, but before it would speak (if that was indeed its intent) I noticed its eyeballs swivel toward my left. My eyebrows raised, realizing that it was looking toward the Party Area. I slowly turned around, training my flashlight on the curtains, and nearly jumping out of my skin.

I saw another animatronic, arms parting the curtains revealing a full body suit over its exoskeleton. It was modeled after some sort of bear (of what species I couldn't make it, but it sure as hell had a realistic head) and its eyes were red, and trained on me. Its jaws parted, revealing a row of similar teeth to the magenta exoskeleton behind me, and it let loose some sort of crackling roaring noise.

I literally cried out in fear, feeling my face contort to show said emotion. Before I could turn to run I suddenly felt a set of cold hands grab my own, preventing me from moving. I knew it was the magenta exoskeleton, and its grip on my arm tightened. Pain shot through my arm, my hand releasing the flashlight as it fell to the floor and flickered on and off multiple times.

"No, let me go!" I cried out. "You're scaring me! You're really scaring me!"

I felt the magenta's grip loosen, almost release. It reacted toward my fear again, I noted, but I had little time to think on that. I struggled harder and, with one loud grunt and yell, I managed to somehow break free. Either that or the exoskeleton let go, but I didn't care. I quickly reached down to grab my flashlight and as I stood I withdrew my telescopic baton, shaking it quickly to extend it.

"Stay away!" I yelled, light switching between the magenta and the bear. I noted the bear had, by the time I had grabbed my baton, moved closer. "Stay back!"

The magenta one seemed to comply, hands raised in a "I mean no harm" position. When I trained my light on the bear, however, I concluded its intentions were different. It had gained a few steps toward me, and its eyes were blazingly red. It let loose another distorted electronic roar, then started to rush me. It was fast, too fast. Before I had time to swing my baton in defense it was on me.

"Oh God!" I cried out, just before smacked me hard to the ground. I grunted, feeling pain on my side. "No!" I cried out again, "Please no! What did I ever do to y-"

I was cut off with another smack, this time to my head. The force of it was great enough to knock me out cold.

"Whoever it is, it isn't Timothy."

I felt myself coming to. I heard talking. It wasn't human, obviously mechanical by the constant electronic static and tone to it. It sounded almost like the ominous tone of the bear, only now it wasn't roaring.

"HE said HE was afraid, Freddy!" This one was softer, more feminine, but still robotic. "You didn't even try to calm him down after I raised my hands!" Ah, so this was magenta. "I mean, look at it, he probably needs medical attention. Whose programmed for that here?!"

I heard a growl from the bear. "IT had a weapon, Chica." Man this one was a dick! "I'm programmed to react to threats! We all are! Why didn't you?"

"Because, unlike YOU apparently, I'm programmed to THINK before I act!" Oh burn! "I mean, did you even look at his uniform? He's in training, Freddy! Training! Ugh!"

I heard one of the machines stomp off. Probably magenta. By the sound of her footfalls, she was closing in on me. I was still slightly stunned from the incident before, slightly dizzy, but I was aware enough to feel some fear about the magenta approaching. I stiffened as it stopped beside me.

"Hey," I then felt a few taps on my shoulder, "Edward, hey, wake up." The taps turned from finger to metal palm, then to pushing. The urgency in her voice rose. "Hey! Wake up!"

I finally had the strength to open my eyes, releasing a groan as I did. I moved my hand to my head as pain returned to it. I blinked several times, my vision blurry as I made out those two magenta eyes staring down at me. This time, however, I took note of a body suit. It was a chicken, humanoid in shape, with added beak and a few feathers sticking out at the top. This one was definitely for the kids.

"Oh, you're awake!" Plastic eyelids closed over the two eyes, shaping in such a way as to express happiness. "I was so worried! I'm so, so sorry for all that! Are you functioning normally?"

I had to stare at the automaton for a few moments. My mind was still catching up, I going through the feelings and emotions from before. I blinked a few times. Surprisingly, the chicken seemed to have endless patience, her expression unchanged.

"Yeah," I finally managed through gritted teeth, "Yeah I'm fine. Just feeling like a freight train ran over my head. You're Chica right?"

"Yep!" the automaton confirmed, adding, "I'm really sorry about Freddy. He's usually not this aggressive. I think he thought you were an intruder."

"Even with the name badge?" I said, eyebrow raised. Chica rolled her eyes. "Even with," she confirmed.

Chica would eventually help me stand when I got ready to. I used her for support, grunting a bit at the strain. I probably had a mild concussion from the hit I took. She kept her arms under mine for a moment, taking them away when I assured her I was okay. I wiped off the dust from my outfit, straightening it, then turning my attention to where I had ended up. I was genuinely surprised to find out it was the employee lounge.

I heard something click from within the room, looking over in time to see the Freddy the bear turning on a switch to a circuit box. Some of the lights returned to life, I covering my eyes for a moment, then giving a sigh of relief. He seemed to look at me as I did, then turned his attention away as he headed for the exit.

"Com'on Chica," he growled out softly, avoiding my gaze, "it's getting close to six."

"Alrighty!" She called back, turning her attention toward me briefly. "Just make sure you don't tell anyone about this, will you? Please?"

It was a pleading gaze, somehow pulled off despite the lack of advanced facial features. Eyes revealed everything it seemed. I sighed, "Is this going to happen again?" I asked. She shook her head, "No," she replied. "I promise."

Well, Freddy did probably just think me an intruder. I nodded. "Alright."

Chica gave a smile before heading off, waving as she exited the lounge. I waved back, noticing my baton and flashlight on the table. I picked up the baton, looking it over as I went deep in thought. Did Timothy know this was going to happen? Did Freddy attack because I had this? Kinda outlandish, but still…

I replaced both items to my belt, feeling inside my pocket for my phone - undamaged, thankfully - and noticing it was, indeed, almost six o'clock. According to Timothy employees would be arriving soon. I took advantage of the vending machines quickly, eating and drinking a way overdue lunch and snack. Afterward I returned to the security office.

The rest of the morning went uneventfully. True to Timothy's word, employees did arrive early. I checked ID's and struck up some healthy conversation. No one seemed to notice the mark on the back of my head, even when I went to debrief the night with Timothy. I told him nothing eventful happened, just a power outage. He seemed to chuckle knowingly at that.

At eight o'clock I wrote myself off duty on my writing pad, saying my goodbyes for the night. I'd be back tomorrow, I assured.

As I recall, this night was one of my hardest. It's a good thing that I didn't have a concussion, though I wouldn't know it until the end of that week. Still, the fun was yet to come. Thinking back, I'm real glad I decided to go back for another night.


	5. Chapter Four: A Brief History of Things

Founded in 1988, Action World Pizza was designed to be filled with the most wonderful of fun and games, fully directed at the enjoyment and positive influence for the children and their parents. This was, of course, the prime directive of the establishment when it was first founded, and for the first eight years it worked. As time waned on in the companies existence, however, this directive began to change and further evolve with the times. Children, it seemed, were no longer the only targeted audience they attracted!

On September 14th, 1996, Shane Watson and Henry Fazbear - the two co-founders of Action World Pizza - conducted a regional-wide survey of this new customer base. Leston, the town Action World Pizza was founded in, was to be the primary target of this survey. Over the course of six months, the survey took place over phone, by mail, and in person at every conceivable avenue of approach; malls, stores, customers homes, television ads, et cetera. It was long and difficult process, and during this period Shane Watson was diagnosed with an extremely rare type of cancer, leaving Henry Fazbear at the helm while his counterpart dealt with his issues.

By March 15th, 1997, the results of the survey had been counted, tallied, and thoroughly examined by a separate group hired by Henry Fazbear. Not wanting to make any huge business decisions without his counterpart, Henry requested Shane Watson to assist with decision making based on the results. Exactly one month to the day, Shane returned to duty in full remission (thanks to a new medical breakthrough), and the two began to design and plan for the future of Action World Pizza.

What they found in the results was astounding. In the eight years Action World Pizza had been in business (not counting the seven months the survey process took!), the targeted customer base had changed drastically. The amount of children attending the shows for the Action Four - the automatons at the center of the business attraction - remained around the same; a steady eight-hundred and fifty or so every week. They and their parents hailed from various parts of the country, but the majority came from around and within the State of Georgia, which the town of Leston resided in. This was not the astounding part. This was to be expected.

What really took Shane Watson and Henry Fazbear for a loop was the amount of adults and teenagers that attended! It far exceeded the amount of children - staff and security camera footage able to confirm this! - and they had noticed over the years a greater portion of teenagers/adults versus children, but oddly no one ever questioned this. Thus a new business plan was enacted, one catering to the interests of the businesses new demographic, and one specifically aimed at pleasing the overall interests of those responding to the surveys.

It appeared that the primary reason for so many out-of-demographic customers attending was the Action Four. Unbeknownst to the co-founders, people from all around, from all age groups, had become fascinated and fell in love with positive message and morals of their favorite animatronics, even coming so far as from Washington State just to see them! But they wanted more than just pizza and shows, much more, and the survey greatly affirmed this desire from their new customer base.

Thus the new dilemma facing Shane and Henry came to the fore. Just how where they to accommodate the needs and wants of this new unintended customer base, while maintaining the purpose of Action World Pizza as a children's establishment? Henry Fazbear had the answer.

When the land for Action World Pizza was purchased by both Henry and Shane, the town of Leston was little more than a backwoods country town. While doubtful of its success, Leston City Hall granted Henry and Shane a title to a one-hundred-acre portion of land just south of town for little under eight-thousand dollars. It was obvious that at the time no one believed this new business venture would work!

As the years went by, it became apparent to Leston City Hall that Action World Pizza was to be a successful business venture, and as a result of its establishment the city began to grow. Eventually the city began to buy back some of the unused acres for expansion, which was no problem for Henry and Steven. This process would continue over the course of several years, the two co-founders offering a more-than-reasonable price to the town and in return being granted extended tax breaks and other incentives.

Eventually by the time Action World Pizza finished its customer survey on March 15th, 1997, the business was left with fifteen acres to its name and a plethora of tax incentives that would last for centuries. Thus, with a business reserve of well over twenty-five millions dollars, and fifteen acres of land to the businesses name, Henry Fazbear concluded that they had plenty of room to expand the business, with room to spare!

By April 24th of 1997, Henry and Shane had put their heads together to draw up a rough draft of what they intended the business to look like for the future. They imagined two additional buildings - one to be specifically for kids, and the other for teenagers and adults. Many ideas were bounced as to what would be included, and after bringing in several staff and employees for their opinions, and a general consensus of customer opinions on random days of business, the ideas became finalized.

The original building for Action World Pizza would keep its name, but be classified as the "Main Building", while the two additional buildings would be classified as "Secondary" and "Arena". The secondary building would be called , "Kids Fun Zone!", and the third building would be called, "Awesome Arena!". The purposes of both new builds would be to accommodate old and new customer interests, helping the business by allowing them to keep the original building without making any drastic changes.

On August 2nd of the same year, the groundbreaking for the secondary building took place. It would take two years to complete. On February 14th, 1999, Valentine's Day, the groundbreaking for the third building took place just days after the completion of the second building. It would, unfortunately, never see completion until many years later.

Following the celebrations for the completion of the second building, and celebrations for the groundbreaking of the third, Henry Fazbear stayed over with Shane Watson to have their own personal celebration. Shane would go home first, leaving Henry to close up that night, and as he pulled out of the parking lot his vehicle was struck by a drunk driver. Henry Fazbear was killed instantly at the age of sixty-two.

The following morning, Shane Watson, the staff, and employees at Action World Pizza - and the town of Leston itself - was left in a state of mourning. Shane gave a few days off for his employees, allowing them plenty of time to attend the viewing and funeral of their beloved co-founder and boss. No one, not even visiting customers from afar, argued with the lost time.

On February 21st, one business week after the death of Henry Fazbear, and a few days following the viewing and funeral (the whole town attended and half the south-east attended, it seemed), Action World Pizza reopened for business. At first, things were slow and sluggish, and the company began to loose money despite the influx of customers.

On May 12th, 1999, Shane Watson received an intervention. But not from his staff, his employees, or family, or friends. It was late in the night, and seeing their creator so depressed and disillusioned prompted The Action Four, the automatons that were the stars of Action World Pizza, intervened and helped Shane grasp a better understanding of what he can do for the business.

Years later, on February 14th, 2004, the third building was completed and open for business. A memorial was held in recognition of the anniversary of Henry Fazbears death, his contributions, and his life.

Years later, Shane Watson came down with a mysterious illness. Having no friends or family, only his beloved automatons and his trusted Head of Security, Timothy Johnson, were made aware what it truly was. To keep his business running, and to maintain the values Henry Fazbear and himself had instilled, it was unanimously decided that search for a proper successor should take place. Timothy brought forth what Shane considered a brilliant plan, and thus the search for a new Night Guard began.

On August 2nd, 2018, Action World Pizza celebrated its 30th anniversary. Shane Watson, now eighty-eight, continued his search for his successor. It was reported in the Leston Times, the local newspaper, that Action World Pizza had been having a high turnover rate for their new, prestigious Night Guard position. When asked why, the company gave a simple response of, "They just seemed to have the jitters". No elaboration was given on the explanation.

**AUTHORS NOTE:**  
><em><strong>I decided to go into some of the history of the business. In the next chapter I plan on going into further detail of the animatronics that make up the business. I hope you enjoyed reading, and I apologize for the delay. Being an over the road truck driver takes up some time!<strong>_

_**FURTHER, thank you for your messages and support! I greatly appreciate it! I would also encourage you to message me about how you think this story seems to be going so far. While I'm out on the road, I have an awful lot of time on my hands. I would definitely apprecaite some input into my thinking sessions on this story.**_

_**Thank you, again, for this wonderful chance to bring you my idea of what Five Nights at Freddy's could be.**_


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